Key Events Around the Globe: March 13

US shipping Waiver and Release of Stock Piles Will Not Ease Pain at the Pumps

A potential waiver to U.S. shipping restrictions and a record release of oil stockpiles by world governments might slow the pain consumers in the U.S. and elsewhere have suffered at the gasoline pumps since the start of the Middle East war, but will not end it, analysts said on Thursday.

The U.S. government is considering waiving the Jones Act that limits shipments between U.S. ports to U.S. vessels only, the White House said on Thursday, a day after the country agreed to contribute 172 million barrels to the International Energy Agency’s proposal for 400 million barrels of oil to be released from members’ reserves.

The measures are designed to tame the surge in oil and fuel prices caused by Iran’s near complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which poses a major threat to the global economy and to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party in midterm elections in November. However, the measures pale compared with the supply disruptions affecting oil markets.

Low Layoffs Anchoring US Labor Market; Iran War Poses a Threat to Stability

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting labor market conditions remained stable even after the economy shed jobs in February, but the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran poses a downside risk.

For now, the low level of layoffs evident in the report from the Labor Department on Thursday should give the Federal Reserve room to keep interest rates unchanged for some time as the conflict in the Middle East drives up oil prices and threatens to fan domestic inflation, economists said. The war has raised gasoline prices by at least 20% since it started.

US Trade Deficit Narrows in January as Exports Jump to Record High

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in January as exports surged to a record high and imports fell, a trend that if sustained, could see trade contributing to economic growth in the first quarter. The trade gap contracted 25.3% to $54.5 billion, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau said on Thursday. Data for December was revised to show the deficit widening to $72.9 billion instead of $70.3 billion as previously estimated. Economists polled by Reuters forecast the trade deficit shrinking to $66.6 billion in January

Source: HSL Prime Daily, 13 March 2026